Month: August 2016

The latest in my series of posts about my holiday in Sweden, introducing Uppsala.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post sets the scene for my two night stay in Uppsala.

ARRIVAL

Those following this series will be aware that I travelled to Uppsala on an overnight train from Lulea. Apart from one moment about half an hour before Uppsala when I managed to shut myself out of my compartment and had to knock on the door to regain admission (I was only just stirring, and simply forgot to pick my key card up) the journey was largely uneventful. By good fortune I had been assigned the bottom of three beds (the top bed hangs from the ceiling as a permanent fixture, the middle bed folds out from the wall when everybody is ready for bed and the bottom bed is created by rotating the row of seats over by means of an ingenious mechanism).

On arrival at Uppsala Central Station I noted that the was a line of hotels on one side of the tracks, so I went to investigate whether Vandrarhem Uppsala Centralstation was among them and found that it was not. Deciding that other than this little clump of hotels the other side of the tracks looked more promising I headed along the generously spaced walking and cycleway that passes under the station and after passing the bus station found myself on Kungsgatan, where I spied a Tourist Information Office. As it turned out the entrance to the building in which I was staying was just off the main road on the same side street that this office sat at the corner of.

The building in which I was staying had a hotel at the front, and the hostel type rooms in which I was staying at the back. Although it was too early to check in they did have a bag room, so I offloaded some luggage there and set off to commence my exploration of the city. I already had a few photos…

As well as being the birthplace of the great Carolus Linnaeus, Uppsala is home to a sculptor named Bror Hjorth, and two pieces of his work are on display very close to the station.

The station plan of Uppsala Central.

COMMENCING SERIOUS EXPLORATIONS

Consultation of the map with which I had been equipped at the Tourist Information Office revealed that everything of interest to me was to be found by starting in from my hotel in the opposite direction to Kungsgatan, which would serve as a very handy outer boundary marker. My initial target was the cathedral since I reckoned that a very large and prominent landmark that must be pretty much plumb in the centre of the interesting part of the city would serve as a further useful point of orientation, and I could then pick out other places. This part of Uppsala proved to be very attractive and as a bonus was pretty much pedestrianised. Almost directly underneath the cathedral I found the University Museum, and deeming the admission price acceptable decided to go in, with results that will form my next post…

The frontage of the cathedralImmediately above the main doorA close up of that very elaborate circular window.The outside of the University MuseumA close up of the curious onion shaped dome – as you will see in my next post what lies inside that dome is almost as curious.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of blog posts about my recent in Sweden. This is my final post about my time in Lulea.

LAKESIDE PERAMBULATIONS

I had noticed just on the other side of the railway tracks from the the main part of town was a lake and I finished my explorations by heading that way. I crossed the lake on a bridge and found a footpath along the other side of the lake. Reaching a second bridge I crossed back and looked to walk back along the other side. Unfortunately I came to a point where the path was blocked off by high metal fencing. I attempted to find a way round and was unable to do so. Partially in consequence of this I ended up taking a much longer route back towards the station than I had originally envisaged (but was still never in danger of not getting to the station in time to retrieve the bag I had left there). Here are my lakeside pics…

BACK AT THE STATION

Having a little time left before needing to collect my luggage and head for the platform I stopped for a cold (non-alcoholic) drink at the station cafe and to recover from my walking exertions. I took a few more photos while consuming my drink…

For photographing this car I used the same approach I would take to photographing a toy – although this is big enough for an adult to drive a toy is effectively what it is!The second shot with the engine on show.A close up of the engine.

Even waiting on the platform there were things to photograph…

The train Ii would not be getting.Yes – a railway station message board warning Pokemon Go players not to go on the tracks!

The barrier blocking off the crossing point.

A glimpse of the hotel in which I had stayed to night before.The very door by which I boarded the train.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the next installment in my series of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post is a bit different from others in this series so far in that it does not focus only where I was and what I was doing.

THE ICEBREAKERS

Some of you will recall that the last picture in my previous post was this:

The subjects of this picture will also be the subjects of my next post in this series.

At that stage, although some of the names painted on the sides of these ships were familiar to me I did not realise what type of ship they were, but enlightenment was not long away, indeed it came just after I had taken these two pictures…

Right near the covered bridge pictured above I across this:

The whole information boardThe mapThe text

This of course was the cue, now that I knew what they were to take some more pictures of the ships, from a better position:

The names are taken from…

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

Ironically given that we are talking ships, the Norse god of the sea, Njord, does not feature. Frej, referred to in English as Frey or Freyr is a harvest god, and also the son of the aforementioned Njord. Ymer, sometimes spelled Ymir, was the first of the frost giants, formed from the crystallization of droplets of molten ice in the heart of the primeval emptiness Ginnunga Gap, where ice from frozen Nifelheim in the North met Fire from Muspellheim in the South. Atle and Ale are both unknown to me, even though I am well read on Norse Mythology. People wishing to acquaint themselves further with these stories could start with Kevin Crossley-Holland’s compilation of Norse Myths. That book is just one of many mythology books that I own (I am unapologetic in placing the King James Bible in the category).

Although I have no more belief in the gods and giants of Norse mythology than I do in any ancient superstitions, I do quite enjoy the stories and I enjoyed seeing the names commemorated in these ice-breakers.

SOME FINAL PHOTOGRAPHS
FROM MARITIME LULEA

These icebreakers were not by any means the only camera worthy things I saw in this section of my exploration of Lulea…

This floral display was on the way back towards the train station as I headed to see what was on the other side of the tracks.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the next installment in my series of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. I briefly interrupted the sequence of posts to respond to photographic challenge from a fellow blogger, but now the action returns to Lulea on the Gulf of Bothnia where I left it last time.

ENABLING PROPER EXPLORATION

Having had a decent night’s sleep and having a clear head I was able to plan this day, unlike its predecessor, to best effect. After checking out of the hotel my first port of call was the station to ask about stowing a bag there (my smaller bag contained stuff that I was determined to keep with me at all times). An enquiry elicited the information that the station building closed at 5PM, which meant that I could stow my heavier bag safely until then, after which the only practical option would be to await the arrival of the overnight train out on the platform. This still gave me plenty of time for a detailed exploration of the town.

THE START OF THE EXPLORATION

My heavier bag safely stowed I set off to the main shopping area to purchase food for the day from a supermarket I had identified the previous day. This done I then left the shopping area heading into an area of parkland. Even before entering the parkland I had added three photos to my burgeoning collection:

An interesting frontage.A close-up of the device in the upper centre of this first picture.

THE PARKLAND

Entering the parkland I was delighted to find that it was far more extensive than the first view had suggested. Here are some pictures from the first part of the walk through the parkland…

Polar bear sculptures like these can be seen all around Lulea – this set is unusual for their being so many all in a line.

The second part of the walk through the parkland area, which took me to the waterside, where I stayed for a considerable time featured this…

The last point of interest before getting to the waterside was the County Governor’s Residence:

THE WATERFRONT

Then I was at the water-front, and after a brief diversion heading towards maritime Lulea. Here are pictures from the first part of the waterside section of my explorations:

The ducks swimming around this model lighthouse make it obvious that though close this is not actually the sea.

My final set of pictures ends with a pointer to the next post in this series…

I had not previously seen seats like this (and have not seen any equivalent since then)

This is the seat I sat on to eat my lunch.

The subjects of this picture will also be the subjects of my next post in this series.

INTRODUCTION

MY ENTRY

In view of the fact that I am currently creating a series of blog posts about my recent holiday in Sweden and Maria’s own heritage I have looked to Sweden for my contribution to this challenge. While many of the pictures that I took during the course of travelling along Inlandsbanan , as recounted in this eight part sub-series, were framed either by train windows or by such things as parts of bridge structures, I wanted to share something I had not previously shared, so I opted for this picture of a water scene in central Stockholm, framed by the gap in the side of the Tunnelbana section where it was taken:

Those wishing to see more of what I have already produced from my visit to Sweden should click here.

The latest in my series of posts about my holiday in Sweden. This marks the start of the ‘post-Inlandsbanan’ section of the holiday.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series of blog posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. Having concluded an eight-post sub-series on the Inlandsbanan experience I have created a page from all eight said posts can be accessed – click here if interested.

THE JOURNEY FROM GALLIVARE

Those who read my previous post will recall that my plans suffered a setback in Gallivare, which resulted in a night spent outdoors and an early morning journey to Lulea. Unfortunately the circumstances of the journey and in which I bought the ticket meant that I did not have a window seat, so I have no photos of the journey.

It failed to register with me that I could deposit the heavier of my bags at the station. My first port of call was the Arctic Comfort Hotel where I was told that I could not check in until 3PM.

Weighed down as I was I still managed to do a small amount of exploration, before settling down near the station to wait until then. Here are some photos from this stage of proceedings…

One of the first things I noticed about Lulea was the bird life, which had not been much in evidence along the Inlandsbanan route.

A particularly useful information board.This old truck turned decorative feature is as one might expect one of the first things you see emerging from the station.

This bronze sculpture is in a small area of parkland between the main road directly above the station and the main shopping area of the town

The control button at a Swedish pedestrian crossing.

I consumed my lunch on this very bench (it is made of granite, which is readily available all over Sweden).

REMAKING PLANS

Once I was safely ensconced in my hotel room I booked accommodation for the rest my trip before the return to Stockholm – one night on the sleeper to Uppsala, two nights in the cheapest accommodation Uppsala had to offer, two nights in the STF Hostel in Malmo and one night at City Hotel Avenyn in Gothenburg (after five straight nights in cheap, communal accommodation, necessitated by budgetary constraints, I felt that I would need something a little better by then). Having set the scene with this post, there will be several more posts about Lulea…